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POLITICAL CRISIS IN EGYPT: MORSY'S OUT BY THE MILITARY FORCES; Deposed leader says Egypt's 'free men' reject coup


Egyptian military ousts Morsy

Fireworks light the Cairo sky Wednesday as opponents of the now-ousted President Mohamed Morsy celebrate in Tahrir Square.
July 3rd, 2013
05:14 PM ET

Egyptian military ousts Morsy

  • Egypt's top military leader announces Wednesday night that President Mohamed Morsy has been removed from power
  • Head of Egypt's constitutional court will be temporary president until new constitution is drawn up and new elections can be held
  • The military demanded that Morsy share power with opponents after anti-government protests
  • Morsy, elected last year, refused to comply; mass protests continue to support him
  • Refresh this page for the latest news we're seeing and hearing. Catch up with our full story here.
[Updated at 5:16 p.m. ET, 11:16 p.m. in Egypt] Wherever Morsy is, he doesn't appear to have accepted his ouster. He's says, in a taped statement just aired on Al Jazeera, that he is still Egypt's legitimate president.
He also said he remains open to negotiate and to engage in dialogue.
Stressing that he was democratically elected, he called on his supporters to continue their peaceful demonstrations but avoid infighting and bloodshed.
[Updated at 5:11 p.m. ET, 11:11 p.m. in Egypt] The U.S. Embassy in Cairo has ordered the mandatory evacuation of all nonessential personnel, CNN's Jill Dougherty reports, citing a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
[Updated at 5:08 p.m. ET, 11:08 p.m. in Egypt] A few hours before Morsy's ouster was announced, soldiers and police were deployed to certain areas of the city. CNN's Ivan Watson, reporting from Cairo, reports that these forces generally surrounded areas where supporters of Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood were gathered.
To recap the demonstration scenes: Anti-Mosry demonstrators are celebrating in Cairo's Tahrir Square, but there is a substantial pro-Mosry crowd elsewhere in the city.
Some of those protesters oppose Morsy but also oppose pushing from power a democratically elected leader, said Gehad El-Haddad, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, which helped boost Morsy to power last year. "Under no circumstances will we ever accept a military-backed coup," he said.
[Updated at 4:53 p.m. ET, 10:53 p.m. in Egypt] We told you earlier about the large pro-Mosry demonstration in Cairo. Here's a video that will give you a good look what that looks like tonight:
[Updated at 4:42 p.m. ET, 10:42 p.m. in Egypt] The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee has weighed in:
“It is unfortunate that Morsy did not heed popular demands for early elections after a year of his incompetent leadership and attempting a power grab for the Muslim Brotherhood," U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, said in an e-mailed statement. "Morsy was an obstacle to the constitutional democracy most Egyptians wanted.
"I am hopeful that his departure will reopen the path to a better future for Egypt, and I encourage the military and all political parties to cooperate in the peaceful establishment of democratic institutions and new elections that lead to an Egypt where minority rights are protected. But make no mistake about it, Egypt is in for very difficult days.”
[Updated at 4:36 p.m. ET, 10:26 p.m. in Egypt] Pro-Morsy satellite television stations have been cut off by the Egyptian military, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said Wednesday in a post on his official Twitter account.
[Updated at 4:26 p.m. ET, 10:26 p.m. in Egypt] We noted earlier that the Muslim Brotherhood wouldn't be pleased, and now it is expressing its displeasure officially.
Morsy's ouster is a "conspiracy against legitimacy" and "a military coup that wastes the will of the people and returns Egypt to tyranny," the Muslim Brotherhood said in a post on its official website.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which is the Islamist movement that propelled Morsy to the presidency, also said that "millions condemn the coup and support the elected president's legitimacy."
It also suggested that elements of the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in 2011 following massive demonstrations, are behind what happened to Morsy.
"The former regime is returning at the cost of the blood of ... martyrs," the brotherhood's post said.
[Updated at 4:18 p.m. ET, 10:18 p.m. in Egypt] We want to bring you up to speed on what the opposition leaders have been saying in the past hour. Mohamed ElBaradei, one of those leaders, said in a televised address that the political road map outlined by the military "responds to the demands of the Egyptian people."
He said that the road map – which includes allowing the head of the country's constitutional court to be Egypt's temporary president until a new constitution can be drawn up and new elections can be held – "guarantees achieving the principle demand of the Egyptian people of having early presidential elections."
[Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET, 10:15 p.m. in Egypt] Cairo's Tahrir Square is still rocking, reports CNN's Reza Sayah from near the square.
"It's just jubilation. They're just rocking – it's a party," Sayah said.
The square – the site of 2011 demonstrations that helped oust then-President Hosni Mubarak – has been the heart of demonstrations that have now helped prompt Morsy's ouster. Thousands are cheering in the square, watching fireworks go off overhead.
[Updated at 3:59 p.m. ET, 9:59 p.m. in Egypt] Despite the Egyptian military's forced ouster of Morsy, a former Egyptian general, Sameh Seif El Yazal, argues to CNN that what happened today isn't a military coup. He says the military isn't going to rule the country and that the military "supported the will of the Egyptians."
El Yazal said he expects elections to take place in nine to 12 months.
To recap what Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi, Egypt's top military leader, said when announcing Morsy's ouster about an hour ago: Morsy was no longer the leader of the country, and that the head of the country's constitutional court will serve as Egypt's temporary president until a new constitution can be drawn up and new elections can be held.
It's not clear where Morsy is, although he, or someone on his behalf, appears to be sending messages through Twitter, as noted directly below.
[Updated at 3:52 p.m. ET, 9:52 p.m. in Egypt] Morsy appears to be taking to Twitter.
A post on the Egyptian presidency's official account, attributed to Morsy, says the military's move represents a "full coup categorically rejected by all the free men of our nation."
The account also "urges civilians and military members to uphold the law & the Constitution" and "not to accept that coup which turns #Egypt backwards." This was posted just moments after the country's top military officer announced his ouster.
Morsy's account "urges everyone to adhere to peacefulness and avoid shedding blood of fellow countrymen."
[Updated at 3:37 p.m. ET, 9:37 p.m. in Egypt] It's not all celebration in Cairo. Pro-Morsy demonstrators in Cairo are furious, CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from near their rally.
Thousands at the pro-Morsy rally chanted "down with military rule" and "invalid" upon listening to the military announcement of Morsy's ouster.
Morsy enjoyed support from the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that propelled Morsy to the presidency. CNN's Fareed Zakaria said much will depend on whether and how the Muslim Brotherhood will challenge the army's move.
Morsy, a U.S.-educated religious conservative, was elected president in June 2012. But his approval ratings have plummeted. His government has failed to keep order as the economy has tanked and crime has soared, including open sexual assaults on women in Egypt's streets. Chaos has driven away many tourists and investors.
That has disaffected many among Egypt's poor and middle classes, Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics, told CNN this week.
"The millions of Egyptians who cheered for Morsy are saying he must go," Gerges said.
[Updated at 3:26 p.m. ET, 9:26 p.m. in Egypt] Car horns are honking and fireworks are going off in Tahrir Square, the heart of the anti-Morsy protests that is still filled with thousands upon thousands of people.
CNN’s Reza Sayah, who's at the square, described it as “an explosion of joy.”
[Updated at 3:24 p.m. ET, 9:24 p.m. in Egypt] Morsy's ouster comes hours after the passing of a deadline set by the military, which had told Morsy, in effect: Make a deal with the opposition and settle the unrest of the past few days, or be ousted.
The officer who announced the move moments ago, Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi, said the head of the country's constitutional court will serve as Egypt's temporary president until a new constitution can be drawn up and new elections can be held.
[Updated at 3:18 p.m. ET, 9:18 p.m. in Egypt] CNN's Ivan Watson in Cairo said he had seen Egyptians celebrating the overthrow of Egypt’s first ever democratically elected president.
“I am quite stunned by how much ill will he generated among so many Egyptians, that they throw away the electoral process and start again,” he said.
[Updated at 3:13 p.m. ET, 9:13 p.m. in Egypt] Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, elected just a year ago, has been ousted from power, Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi just said in a televised address.
El-Sisi, Egypt's top military officer, announced that President Mohamed Morsy was no longer the leader of the country and warned the military would respond firmly to any violence. He also outlined a political road map for the country to follow.
Anti-Morsy demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square, listening to the address, roared their approval when El-Sisi finished.
Egypt's Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi announces Morsy's ouster Wednesday night on Nile TV.
[Updated at 12:45 p.m. ET, 6:45 p.m. in Egypt] Key statements from both sides are coming out on social media.
This from Essam al Haddad, Egypt's presidential senior adviser on foreign affairs, on his Facebook page:
As I write these lines I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page. For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let's call what is happening by its real name: Military coup.
And this tweet from Muslim Brotherhood official Gehad El-Haddad, saying tanks are on the streets.
A little earlier today, the military used its Facebook page (in Arabic) to say it was meeting with religious and political leaders before announcing any action.
And Morsy's Facebook page (in Arabic) added his refusal to change his position. He's proposing a "road map" to include a new coalition government but said bypassing the elected presidency was "a threat to democracy."
[Posted at 12:40 p.m. ET, 6:40 p.m. in Egypt] Massive protests have been taking place in Cairo for and against President Mohamed Morsy and his Muslim Brotherhood. Now it seems the protests are leading to concrete action.
Democratic reformists and moderates accuse Morsy's government of moving in an authoritarian direction. There's also opposition from former Mubarak supporters and others fed up with the nation's direction who are calling for the restoration of order through the military.
Earlier today Morsy refused to act on demands by the military that he share power with his opponents. That prompted the military generals to issue a statement they called "The Final Hours."
"We swear by God that we are ready to sacrifice our blood for Egypt and its people against any terrorist, extremist or ignorant," they said.
A key difference between these protests and the ones in 2011 that led to the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak in the Arab Spring is that Morsy is democratically elected.
Here's a profile of President Mohamed Morsy
Our colleague Reza Sayah reported from the heart of the protests earlier on Wednesday.
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  1. John
    Good riddance
    July 3, 2013 at 5:12 pm | Report abuse | Reply
  2. Joe Rich
    Hey, CNN, why don't you jokers learn to spell Morsi's name. On the TV, you have been spelling it Morsy! You guys are a bunch of jokers. Flipping to BBC!
Military has cut off pro-Morsy satellite TV, Muslim Brotherhood says. http://t.co/JSuYXKFtFk" -
 
 
 

 


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